• Native American Indians used herbs such as Cranberry, Echinacea and Tobacco.native american pow-wow image by Joy Fera from Fotolia.com
  
  The Native American people were connected with the environment in which they lived and depended on the land and the plants for their food, medicine, dyes, fabrics and ceremonies. According to author Daniel E. Moerman in his book "Native American Ethnobotany", Native American Indians employed the use of approximately 2874 species of plants as herbal medicines, 230 for dye and 492 as fibers for tool-making and weaving. Many of these species we still recognize today in modern western culture.
  
  

Coneflower

• Echinacea was used for snake bites, stings and toothaches.Echinacea image by Christian Fessl from Fotolia.com
  
  Purple Coneflower, more commonly known today as echinacea, is a native North American plant that was, according to author Gillian Painter in her book "Materia Medica for the Southern Hemisphere", used as an antidote for snake bites and stings, chewed for toothache and tonsillitis, and used as a local or topical anesthetic. Today, the market for purple coneflower is growing rapidly as natural chemicals in the roots and flowers are known to stimulate the body's production of white blood cells to treat infections.
  
  

Tobacco

• Tobacco was considered a sacred plant for ceremonies.tobacco feild image by OMKAR A.V from Fotolia.com
  
  Native American Indians used a wide variety of different species of tobacco, and it played a large role in religious rituals. Tobacco was considered a sacred plant by the Native Americans and was employed to treat mental problems, as a spiritual offering to ancestors, and they drank it as an infusion in ceremonies. As a medicinal plant, tobacco leaves were used to treat wounds, burns, ulcers, nosebleeds, mental disorders, fainting, headaches and coughs.
  
  

Cranberry

• Cranberries were used for treating the urinary system and eaten for food.Cranberry Bush image by Stanis...?aw Tokarski from Fotolia.com
  
  Native Americans used the fruit of cranberry plants for similar reasons as western cultures do today - as a source of food and a medicinal plant for treating ailments of the bladder and urinary tract. The fruit are rich in tannins that prevent bacteria from binding to human tissues, helping to inhibit urinary tract infections. The berries could be dried and taken on hunts, used as a source of vitamin C during winter months, and could be made into bread and cakes. In addition to this, the berries were also used for treating wounds, blood poisoning and for making dye and fabric.
  
  

Sagebush

• Sagebush was made into tea for digestion.sage bush on eroding sandstone, Utah image by Lars Lachmann from Fotolia.com
  
  Despite it's name, sagebrush is not related to the common sage we used in cooking, but is actually a relative of the Artemisia (wormwood) family. Native Americans used the leaves and wood of sagebush for ceremonial fires, making ceremonial wands and ritualistic charcoal. Sagebrush was also used during sweatbaths, possibly steamed or smoked for cleansing. Tea was made from the leaves to stop post-partum bleeding, to help digestion, relieve constipation and treat colds and fevers.
  
  

Juniper

• Juniper berries could be eaten, made into medicine or used in ceremonies.Utah Juniper image by Carol Hyman from Fotolia.com
  
  Juniper is a tree native to North America and Eurasia, and has been used extensively in the past by Native American Indians as a ritual plant, herbal medicine and food source. The berries were mashed and eaten in fall and winter, or could be roasted and made into a bread dough. Juniper wood was important in religious ceremonies, such as the War Dance and the Blessing Way. The berries were eaten to treat headaches, or boiled as a remedy for influenza and dandruff.